Realism and Twentieth Century British Political Thought

The mid to late twentieth century saw a number of British moral, political and legal philosophers make significant contributions to the study of political thought, but which frequently differed from the predominantly abstract and moralistic output of their American counterparts. This workshop will examine the general themes and issues arising from that British legacy – themes such as value pluralism, pessimism, moral minimalism, and the recent ”realist” turn in political theory. It will also focus on the specific thought of post-war British thinkers, including (but not limited to) Isaiah Berlin, Michael Oakeshott, H.L.A. Hart, Stuart Hampshire, Bernard Williams, John Dunn, and John Gray.

Papers may focus on any of the thinkers or themes outlined above, or indeed on the work of any thinker of British origin or residence in the post-war period who has made a substantive contribution to the fields of moral, political and legal philosophy.

Anyone who is interested in presenting a paper should send an abstract of no more than 500 words (in English) to realismworkshop2012@gmail.com before 15th May, 2012. Likewise, please forward any queries regarding presentations or submissions to the above address. Presentations are expected to last for 30 minutes and will be followed by a 30 minute period for discussion.